This invention relates generally to a locking knife and sheath combination which is readily attachable to a garment, belt, boot, or the like.
The typical knife includes a metal blade with a handle made from plastic, wood, metal, laminate, or the like, being fixed to the blade in some manner. The handle portion can be molded directly onto a shank, or tang, portion extending from the blade or can be attached to such tang portion by rivets, screws, or some other suitable fasteners. In the manufacturing context, the attachment of a handle to the knife usually requires additional manufacturing steps, which accordingly increases the complexity of manufacture and labor costs in general.
All-metal knifes, where the blade and handle are both provided on a unitary piece of metal, have been produced. Because of the relative ease of manufacture, they can be produced quite economically, in that no separate handle assembly is required. Also, since the separate handle, which could break, become loose, or fall off, is not required, such all-metal knives tend to have advantage in toughness and durability over conventional knives where the knife and handle are not formed integrally from one piece of metal.
However, such one-piece knives have, in the past, had several significant disadvantages. From a subjective standpoint, one-piece all-metal knives are sometimes viewed as being of less quality and value as compared to conventional knives. Perhaps the most significant disadvantage was that the metal handle did not provide a comfortable grip for using the knife. An especially economical method of producing one-piece knives involves stamping or forming them from sheet or bar metal stock. In so doing, however, the handle portion of the knife is of the same general thickness as is the blade portion. This can result in the knife handle being of a relatively thin profile, which, without more, can be uncomfortable to use. The knives offer no cushioning for the handle portion since the handle is rigid and integral with the blade. On the other hand, the relatively thin thickness of the handle provides for a low-profile knife with a reduced bulk, as compared to a conventional knife having an enlarged handle fixed to the blade.
Another feature of conventional knives is that the handle is designed for ambidextrous use, i.e., the knife must be usable by either left or right-handed individuals. Also, depending on the respective orientation between the knife handle and the blade, the knife must sometimes be oriented in a particular manner in order to fit in a sheath, depending on the handle design.
To store a knife, sheathes have been designed which will allow the knife to be quickly removed from the sheath when needed. Other sheaths have been designed which provide a strap, elastic loop, or the like, for engaging the handle to retain the knife within the sheath. Still further, knives have been designed which secure the handle of the knife to the blade-receiving portion of the sheath through a mechanical means. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,391,574, issued to Housinger on Sep. 30, 1943, discloses a knife handle having a spring arm riveted to the knife blade. The spring arm includes a locking pin which is received in a notch formed in the sheath.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,747, issued to Collins, the inventor of the present invention, on Sep. 20, 1983, discloses a knife having a spring-biased button that is receivable in an opening provided in the sheath. The button is depressed when the knife is inserted into the sheath, and remains depressed until reaching the opening, where it then pops into engagement with the opening to lock the knife in the sheath. U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,192, also issued to Collins, on Aug. 15, 1989, discloses a knife having button portions receivable in a hole defined in the sheath. A leaf spring biases one of the button portions into the hole, depending on how the knife is inserted into the sheath. One embodiment of the patent discloses the use of a button and a coil spring, for allowing the knife to be inserted in a locking position into the sheath in only one way. U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,554, again issued to Collins, on Oct. 23, 1990, discloses a knife being retained in a sheath by a bolt and spring, which are slidably contained within a channel within the sheath.
Another knife and sheath design is provided on a knife sold by Dacor (Hi-Tech Hunting Style Knife 7216-00) which includes a button mounted on the sheath for engaging the knife.
In certain situations, it is necessary to have a knife safely secured within a sheath, while at the same time having the knife quickly removable for use. This could be a need for active persons such as rescue workers, backpackers, climbers, and hunters, etc. This is also a particular need of underwater divers. Divers often require the use of their knives in dark, sometime disorienting, environments. Having a simple yet reliable means for quickly releasing the knife from the sheath can be extremely important.
Sheaths are typically provided with a loop portion or open portion for receipt of a belt worn about the waist of the user, or for receipt of a retaining strap. Such an arrangement typically requires for the user to either remove his or her belt in order to place the sheath on the belt, or requires that the strap have a free end available to be inserted through the strap opening.
Sheath-type devices have been disclosed which may be clipped onto an object. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 125,921, issued to Will, et al. on Apr. 23, 1872, discloses a scabbard having a clasp bar and flat spring which pivot about a plate. The clasp bar is moved through action of a screw contacting the plate, the clasp bar being interposed between the back side of the sheath and the head of the screw. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,131,669, issued to Bremer, on Mar. 16, 1915, and 4,759,483, issued to Willoughby, on Jul. 26, 1988, disclose other types of sheath attachment means.
While prior sheath attachment configurations are available, they present limitations which often interfere with a low-profile, easy-to-use device.